by Chris Maher | Aug 15, 2015
Round 1: 14/15/16 August – Derby
Saturday 14th March 2015, Afternoon Session 13.00 – 16.30, Evening Session 19.00 – 22.30.
Build-up
The Revolution Elite Championship and HOY Future Stars will begin at round 2 in Manchester on 24th October following the Special Opening Event at the Derby Arena on 14-16 August.
The Derby event is a special ‘Olympic Qualification’ event which has been developed in conjunction with Team GB to provide an opportunity to score some crucial UCI qualification points before the 15th September 2015 cut-off date.
The Stars are coming out to play in the three day, four session event. Big guns from the road return to the track in a statement of intent, on the path to Rio 2016. None bigger than former Tour de France Winner, Sir Bradley Wiggins.
The Manx Missile, Mark Cavendish who recently road the track in Europe returns in the hope of a chance of Olympic glory, riding the Madison with Sir Brad, whilst regular Trackies Ed Clancy, Owain Doull and Mark Christian will want to stamp their authority on the event.
The competition in all disciplines are once more attracting huge European athletes. Tim Veldt, Kenny de Ketele, Aaron Gate, Francois Pervis, Hugo Haak but to name a few, with the Women’s Events attracting Jolien D’Hoore, Pascale Jeuland, Laurie Berthon and Sandie Clair.
Leading British Endurance Women include the darling of the track and the biggest crowd pleaser Laura Trott, with Katie Archibald, Joanna Rowsell Shand, Elinor Barker and Grace Garner. Competing for the Sprint glory will be Rebecca James, Jessica Varnish and Danielle Khan, whilst Shanaze Reade returns to put on a show.
FRIDAY EVENING SESSION:
Doors open at 18:00. Racing from 19:00 to 22:30.
Stars were falling in more ways than one in the opening session of Revolution 52 in Derby. World Champion Sprinter Francois Pervis tumbled in a collision with Matt Rotherham late-on into the evening as the Revolution Longest Lap came to its conclusion.
Pervis had also been beating by fellow countryman Quentin Lefargue in the kilometer time trial, but surprise of the evening was Callum Skinner going one place better to top the leader board with a 1:01.135.
Crowd favorite Laura Trott road into third position in the opening race of the evening, the 3000m individual pursuit. Riding against a super strong Ciara Horne who’s shown consistant form over the Summer months on the road, pipped former National Champion Joanna Rowsell Shand in this qualifying session.
The pair locked horns again in the final play-off, but this time, Rowsell-Shand had the upper hand on Horne, producing another 03:37.
Another upset in the Women’s 500m Time Trial for the Sprinters, saw Katy Marchant taking the podium from Jess Varnish by a whisker. Youngster Danielle Khan claimed third with France’s Sandie Clair fourth.
The biggest attraction on the evening was of course, Sir Bradley Wiggin’s return to the Track. Riding in the four-man Team Pursuit, brought the crowd alive as the laps began counting down. Setting a qualifying time in first position, Great Britain was just shy of a sub four minute ride with a 04:00.324 going into the final with Youth Team 100% ME.
Substituting Jon Dibben for Ed Clancy in the podium play-off, saw the only sub four performance of the night with a 03:54.974. The Netherlands went on to beat Austria for the final placings.
Event 1 Individual Pursuit – Qualifying Women
- Ciara Horne GB 03.37.278
- Joanna Rowsell Shand GB 03.37.438
- Laura Trott GB 03.39.586
- Emily Kay GB 03.42.202
- Leire Olaberria Esp 03.43.916
- Emily Nelson GB 03.46.938
- Katie Archibald GB 03.48.178
- Lydia Gurley Irl 03.48.496
Event 2 Team Pursuit – Qualifying Men
- Great Britain Gbr 04.00.324
- 100% ME Gbr 04.04.568
- Netherlands Ned 04.06.251
- Austria Aut 04.26.297
Event 3 500m Time Trial Women
- Katy Marchant GB 00.34.117
- Jessica Varnish GB 00.34.292
- Danielle Khan GB 00.34.961
- Sandie Clair Fra 00.35.262
- Yesna Rijhoff Ned 00.35.757
- Laurine Van Riessen Ned 00.36.006
- Shanaze Reade GB 00.36.472
- Ellie Coster GB 00.36.651
Event 4 Individual Pursuit – Finals Women
Joanna Rowsell Shand beat Ciara Horne in the final play-off. Laura Trott beat Emily Kay for the third place.
Event 5 1km Time Trial Men
- Callum Skinner GB 01.01.135
- Quentin Lafague Fra 01.01.878
- Francois Pervis Fra 01.02.336
- Lewis Oliva GB 01.02.749
- Matthew Rotherham GB 01.02.810
- Matthew Crampton GB 01.03.786
- Hugo Haak Ned 01.03.794
- Jose Moreno Sanchez Esp 01.04.935
Event 6 Young Riders Scratch Race Mixed
The Youth Scratch race ran over two rounds with Brad Dransfield (Kirkless CA)winning both races. Thamana Nel, Tom Humphrey and Ellie Russell finished both races in the same positions. In the first round, many of the field were lapped as they settled into a high pace of the twenty lap race, but managed to stay together for round two.
Event 7 Team Pursuit – Finals Men
Great Britain beat 100% ME in the Men’s Team Pursuit final. The Netherlands beat Austria for third place.
Event 8 Revolution Longest Lap – Sprinters Men
Great Britain’s Lewis Oliva won the Revolution Longest lap sprint to the line, beating fellow countryman Callum Skinner. The Netherlands Hugo Haak came home third with France’s Quentin Lefarague fourth.
Event 10 Scratch Race Women
Katie Archibald (GB)gained a lap halfway through the Women’s Scratch Race to claim the podium finishing safely in the bunch. Although several attacks were made to escape the peleton, it was Laura Trott that took the final bunch sprint.
by Anna Magrath | Mar 18, 2015
Sir Bradley Wiggins and Marcel Kittel have been confirmed as two of the stars who will take part in the first ever Tour de Yorkshire. The 2012 Tour de France winner will lead his own Team WIGGINS developmental squad while the German sprinter will return to Yorkshire a year after wearing the first yellow jersey in Harrogate at the Tour de France 2014.
At Welcome to Yorkshire’s Y15 annual conference in Scarborough the race organisers, Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) and Welcome to Yorkshire, announced the teams which will be taking part. It was revealed that the new race has attracted significant interest from teams, following the massive crowds and challenging terrain which combined in July last year to make it a spectacular Grand Départ of the Tour de France.
Under UCI regulations as a 2.1 stage race, the Tour de Yorkshire has selected a field from five WorldTeams, six Professional Continental Teams, four Continental Teams and a Great Britain National Team.
©www.chrismaher.co.uk / CyclingShorts.cc
In total, seven of the teams who raced in the Tour de France are returning to Yorkshire’s roads, and will be joined by an exciting mix of European and home-grown talent. British cycling fans are expected to be delighted at the inclusion of top teams such as Team Sky and brand new Team WIGGINS.
The WorldTeams making a return to Yorkshire following the Tour de France, are: Team Sky, Team Giant-Alpecin, BMC Racing Team, Team Lotto NL-Jumbo, and IAM Cycling.
The Professional Continental Teams are: Cofidis Solutions Credits, Team Europcar (who both raced in July 2014), MTN-Qhubeka, Cult Energy Pro Cycling, Roompot Oranje Peloton, Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise.
Continental level teams are: Team WIGGINS, NFTO, ONE Pro Cycling and Madison Genesis. The GB National Team will also field eight riders.
Christian Prudhomme, Director of the Tour de France, said: “We will be glad to return to Yorkshire after the huge success of the Tour de France 2014 Grand Départ, the grandest ever. The first ever Tour de Yorkshire will be another occasion to showcase the outstanding landscapes of the county, especially of the coast which we didn’t visit last year with Le Tour. Tour de Yorkshire will be a great opportunity to review young talents among British riders and enable them to ride with top Tour de France professional teams and cycling stars like Sir Bradley Wiggins and Marcel Kittel.”
It is now up to teams to decide their 8 riders for the race, over a route which was unveiled by Jean Etienne Amaury from ASO in Bridlington in January. The three stages are each quite different, with a punchy route for 174km of Stage One from Bridlington to Scarborough; a tactically important sprinter’s day on Stage Two from Selby to York over another 174km, and a return to some of the climbs and challenges of the Grand Départ as the third day takes riders 167km from Wakefield to Leeds on 3 May.
Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire, said; “Today is a landmark moment for Yorkshire and it is a credit to every single person who played a role in the Grand Départ – whether they were a spectator, a rider, a Tour Maker – that we have attracted such a high calibre of teams to this first edition of our new race. The start and finish towns for the Tour de Yorkshire and everybody who has already picked out where they will watch on the day, and now, every member of these teams, will experience one of the greatest sports events in the UK in 2015.”
Riders will be selected by the teams and announced in April. Stage one of the Tour de Yorkshire, on Friday 1st May, will start in Bridlington and finish in Scarborough. Stage two, on Saturday 2nd May, will start in Selby and finish in York and stage three, on Sunday 3rd May, will start in Wakefield and finish in Leeds.
The Tour de Yorkshire will be shown live on television in the UK, on British Eurosport and ITV, as well as to 70 countries around the world with a huge television audience expected.
Maps of the routes, timings and information for spectators can be found at; letouryorkshire.com/routemaps
A women’s race of four 20km laps of a York circuit will be held on day two of the race, Saturday 2nd May. Team and riders will be announced in April and one of the first major names confirmed as taking part is Dame Sarah Storey, one of Great Britain’s most decorated female Paralympians in history having won 11 Gold, eight Silver and three Bronze medals across six Paralympic Games. In 2014 Sarah and her husband established women’s team Pearl Izumi Sports Tours International, which dominated the UK domestic racing scene in their first season and, it has been announced today, will be racing the Women’s Tour de Yorkshire.
by Anna Magrath | Sep 9, 2014
The Friends Life Yellow Jersey changed shoulders for the third consecutive day as Edoardo Zardini claimed victory atop the Tumble mountain above Abergavenny.
The Italian was first across the line at the summit, heading Michal Kwiatkowski by nine seconds, with Sir Bradley Wiggins leading in a small group in fifth, a further five seconds back.
The win puts the Bardiani CSF into the Friends Life Yellow Jersey, giving the team control of two of the jerseys, with teammate Sonny Colbrelli retaining the YodelDirect Sprints Jersey for a third successive day.
On a glorious day plucked from mid-summer Zardini attacked from the moment the peloton turned left on the Tumble, one of the toughest climbs in Britain rising 500m in just six kilometres. Neither looking back nor forward but just operating in his own zone Zardini danced rhythmically on his pedals and with the bigger names marking each other soon pulled out an advantage.
Nicholas Roche attacks
Having ridden initially with Garmin Sharp’s Jack Bauer from the foot of the climb, Zardini struck on alone, before eventually Nicolas Roche of Tinkoff-Saxo decided to chance his arm and accelerated to join the young Italian and then, hitting a good patch, pulled ahead himself. Just for a moment the Irishman looked to be heading for the stage victory himself but the determined Italian was far from done.
Pacing himself nicely Zardini, 24, stormed back in the final two kilometres and took line honours along for probably the best win of his career alongside his win in Stage Two of the Giro del Trentino earlier this year. It also catapulted him into the Friends Life Yellow Jersey.
“I live in Verona and today was very like many of the training rides I do around my home in Verona so it suited me fine,” said a delighted Zardini afterwards. “I knew this climb had the reputation of being possibly the best in Britain and it lived up to its reputation. It very tough but for me it was a beautiful climb today.
“I was never in trouble when Nicolas came up to join me. After attacking I was pacing my effort because I knew there would be more to do. I let him go past and perhaps I kidded to be tired a little bit but actually I was feeling fine all the time and soon decided to go back on the attack. I felt fantastic and was able to enjoy the moment and all the support of the fans at the top.
“We are not a big team but we enjoy taking on the big team and we have had great success. We won three stages of the Giro this year and last year Stefano Pirazzi won the King of the Mountains at the Giro.
“We have come here to be aggressive and to race and we will fight hard to defend the jersey. I think we will probably need to try and find some more second somewhere in the other hard stages because obviously riders like Wiggins and Kwiatkowski will be very strong in the Time Trial. It will be difficult but we will try.”
Behind Zardini the better known riders were fighting out an enthralling contest on the 179.9km run from Newtown to the top of the Tumble, basically the top of the famous Blorenge Mountain above Abergavenny and Blaenavon.
Kwiatkowski finished very strongly nine second behind the Italian while Roche, who at one stage looked certain to pay for his earlier effort, clung on bravely for third place a further two seconds back. Rising Belgian star Dylan Teuns finished next on the same time while Wiggins arrived 14 seconds back behind the winner in fifth place.
The Breakaway
As usual Wiggins opted to set his own pace and time trial his way up the mountain rather than react to the attacks in front of him and with David Lopez keeping him good company all the way to finish in good shape.
His stated aim before the race was always to limit his losses on the Tumble, which he has done, and then work hard towards a possible showdown in the short time-trial on the 8.8km London circuit on Sunday.
In the Friends Life General Classiciation contest Kwiatkowski is now second behind Zardini at 13 seconds, Roche third at 17, Teuns a further four second seconds back and Wiggins fifth at 24 along with teammate Lopez.
Elsewhere Liverpudlian Mark McNally continued his strong showing to retain the SKODA King of the Mountains jersey, while Sonny Colbrelli, also of the triumphant Bardiani CSF team still leads the YodelDirect Sprints jersey. Ben Swift of Team Sky leads the Chain Reaction Cycles Point’s jersey.
Roche’s Tinkoff Saxo teammate Manuele Boaro claimed the day’s Rouleur Combativity Award, having featured in the six rider break, before striking out alone to be caught on the slopes of the Tumble.
The Friends Life Tour of Britain returns to Worcestershire after a five-year absence on Stage Four, for a 184.6-kilometre leg from Worcester to Bristol, which culminates with the climb of Bridge Valley Road up to the finish on Clifton Downs.
Highlights of Stage Three are on ITV4 at 2200 on Tuesday 9 September, with live coverage resuming from 1300 on Wednesday on ITV4, for Stage Four from Worcester to Bristol. Full details of the television coverage of the Friends Life Tour of Britain, including British Eurosport’s live coverage, can be found here.
For full Stage Three results, click here.
by Anna Magrath | Sep 2, 2014
Defending champion Sir Bradley Wiggins will lead Team Sky’s squad at the 2014 Friends Life Tour of Britain, which begins in Liverpool on Sunday 7 September.
Wiggins returns to the Friends Life Tour of Britain after winning the race in 2013 and this year he will line up alongside fellow British riders Ian Stannard and Ben Swift as part of a six-man squad.
The 2014 Friends Life Tour of Britain starts in Liverpool this weekend and finishes in London on Sunday 14 September, taking in eight tough stages along the way. Following the spectacular Tour de France Grand Départ leaving from the UK last July this is another opportunity for fans to see Team Sky on British roads.
On Sunday 7 September Liverpool will host to two major cycling events. In the morning Sky will host the first ever Sky Ride Liverpool event, where cyclists of all ages and abilities are able to enjoy a fun day of cycling through a traffic-free route in the city centre, which is free for all to enter. This will be followed in the afternoon by Stage One of the Friends Life Tour of Britain, the country’s largest professional cycle race.
Sir Bradley Wiggins will be joined in a six-man line up by: Ian Stannard, Ben Swift, Bernhard Eisel, David Lopez and Sebastian Henao.
Speaking about racing the eleventh edition of the race, Sir Bradley Wiggins said: “The Tour of Britain is a special race for me so to be returning as defending champion is a real honour.
“It’s always been a tough race but the support we receive from the fans is incredible, and it’s our home tour so I’ve always enjoyed racing it.
“From the start of the year it’s always been a goal of mine to race to the Tour of Britain. The race is growing in stature year on year and it’s our chance to go there with a strong team and race in front of home fans to thank them for their support over the season.
“Cycling’s now more popular than ever before in the UK with over a million more people are getting out on their bikes. This is great for the sport we love and Sky and British Cycling have been at the heart of this transformation, so having a Sky Ride start on the same day as Stage One in Liverpool is brilliant. Hopefully it will inspire people to go on Sky Ride in the morning and then cheer us on in the afternoon.”
The Team Sky squad for the 2014 Friends Life Tour of Britain will be:
Sir Bradley Wiggins, United Kingdom – age 34
Returning to the race with the number one of defending champion on his back, Bradley has one of the most impressive palmares in all of modern day cycling. The 2012 Tour de France winner knows the Tour of Britain well having ridden in five of the last six editions.
Bernhard Eisel, Austria – age 33
A Classics specialist, Bernie is comfortable no matter what the British weather throws at the peloton. Another Tour of Britain regular and established road captain, the Austrian is always a fan-favourite after 14 seasons as a pro.
Sebastian Henao, Columbia – age 21
Sebastian has enjoyed a memorable first season as a pro and made his Grand Tour debut at the Giro d’Italia as the youngest rider in the race. The race brings his first taste of British roads but he should excel on the punchy climbs.
David Lopez, Spain – age 33
A member of Team Sky’s Tour de France squad on both his first two seasons with the team, David is one of the best climbing domestiques in the business and finished fourth in his own right at the Tour of Britain last season.
Ian Stannard, United Kingdom – age 27
British fans will be happy to see Ian back in action following a bad crash during the Spring Classics. One of the most powerful men in the peloton, he enjoys nothing more than putting the hammer down in difficult conditions.
Ben Swift, United Kingdom – age 26
One of three Brits in the team, Ben is a fast finisher who claimed his first professional victory back at the 2009 Tour of Britain. Able to win big bunch kicks or sprint from a select group, he will be looking to target more success in this race.
by Anna Magrath | Aug 10, 2014
Adam Blythe won a battle of the Brits to win the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic in central London today beating his old friend and sparring partner Ben Swift in a dramatic sprint finish on The Mall.
The two Sheffield-born cyclists were part of a five-strong group that screamed up Whitehall and under Admiralty Arch after 200 kilometres of hard racing over the wet and muddy roads of the Surrey Hills.
Team Cannondale’s Slovenian rider Kristijan Koren led them up The Mall with the finish line and Buckingham Palace in the distance. But Blythe launched his attack with 50 metres to go, surprising Swift, Team Sky’s pre-race favourite, to take a hard-earned victory for the unfancied NFTO Procycling team.
Blythe threw his arms in the air as he crossed the line, a roar of triumph breaking out from his mud-spattered face.
“It’s hard to say how much this means to me,” said Blythe afterwards. “But you could see how emotional it was as my face said it all.”“OK, it’s not like I won the worlds or anything, but this is very big race for a British rider to win, especially in this setting in front of the Queen’s house. I hope she was watching.”
Swift was one the race favourites and appeared to be in a perfect position to show his famed finishing speed after five Sky teammates, including 2012 Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins, had worked hard in the middle part of the race to get him into a breakaway group.
“It would have been nice to have won but I am really happy with second,” said Swift. “I’ve known Adam since I was seven years old and we’ve got a lot of history, so I knew he was the one to watch.”
“I knew I needed to keep an eye on him and I could see he was looking for me on the run-in. I tried to react to his move but he’s a really fast sprinter and once he got the jump on me he was away.”
Koren’s challenge faded as the two Britons raced away and Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe took third for Omega Pharma-Quick-Step ahead of Philippe Gilbert, Belgium’s former world champion from the BMC Racing Team.
Seventy kilometres earlier it was Gilbert who had made the decisive move of the race on the approach to Box Hill.
There had been a number of early attacks from the 147-man field as the riders set off under the welcome warming sun, which had moved in to replace the morning deluge.
The first significant break came in Richmond Park after 13km when six riders got away and established a gap of just over a minute, an advantage they held through the early stretches out into Surrey’s narrow country roads, many of them still smeared with rain wash.
Wiggins and teammate Ian Stannard did much of the work as Sky took control of the peloton, their intention to close the gap and get Swift into contention for any later break. The plan worked perfectly, and when Gilbert made his move, Swift was one of 10 men who leapt to his wheel.
As Sky stepped off the gas, Cannondale were forced to do the bulk of the work at the front of the chasing group as they tried to get their sprinter Elia Viviani back in touch. But with less 50km to go the leading 11 had stretched their gap to more than a minute and it began to look as if they would never be caught.
They charged down Headley Heath and into Leatherhead, Gilbert and Swift keeping the pressure on at the front. Then Gilbert attacked again between Raynes Park and Wimbledon, splitting the group and dragging five clear of the rest.
The Belgian appeared to be on a mission to win with a long run for home and another kick briefly took him and Alaphilippe away from Swift and Blythe with Koren in tow behind.
But the trio closed the gap by the time they reached Putney High Street and it was five riders who crossed Putney Bridge for the run alongside the River Thames towards Westminster.
At this point it looked like anyone’s race, though the smart money was on Swift. Blythe had other ideas, however, and he timed his final push to perfection.
“In the last kilometre I knew I had plenty in the tank,” he said afterwards. “I just wanted to make sure I got everything out and didn’t leave it too late to make my move.”
“I knew that if I was close to Swifty I’d have a chance. I hugged close to the barriers and had a go. Now I feel like I can mix it with the big boys.”
Two of the early breakaway riders won the day’s other honours. Steve Lampier of Node4 Velosure made it a great day for British cycling by claiming the King of the Mountains title, while Dutchman Steven Lammertink, Team Giant-Shimano’s stagiaire, won the sprint contest.
It was Blythe, however, who won the most important sprint of the day.
by Paul Harris | Sep 27, 2013
Have you ever wanted to have a mooch around the much-vaunted Team Sky bus? I know I did, and thanks to Jaguar, along with some lucky competition winners, we got that very chance whilst the Death Star sat awaiting its star charges during the final stage of the Tour of Britain.
For a race like the Tour of Britain, Team Sky send the team bus and a big service truck – the service truck has a kitchen and laundry at the front, and bike storage and a workshop at the back. The workshop is empty because the team are out on stage, safely shepherding Sir Brad’s run to the gold jersey.
Visiting the team bus while the riders were away was the cycling equivalent to stepping aboard the deserted Marie Celeste where the coffee pot on the stove was still hot. Bernie Eisel’s spare helmet waits patiently for the call to arms.
The bus was designed and built solely to transport nine riders from the hotel to the start line in as comfortable a fashion as possible. The first vehicle to be built so uncompromisingly, other teams have since followed suit.
Team Sky advise that their riders become attached to particular seats – this seat, the second row on the right hand side, is the one that Chris Froome favoured during his Tour de France triumph.
The seat behind the Froome chair is the one that David Lopez occupied during the Tour of Britain, and his newspaper, recovery bar and phones await his return. Team Sky were fantastically open-handed about allowing us access.
Wiggo’s seat, predictably enough, is in the front row, right behind the driver – some goon who really doesn’t like having his picture taken poses with the jersey that Sir Bradley picked up at the end of the Guildford stage the day before. The helmet weighs nothing.
Sir Bradley’s shades and his Guildford trophy. The seats are exquisitely comfortable.
The rules according to Team Sky.
At the back of the bus, past the showers, is a little meeting room where the world’s supply of energy bars, gels and powders are stored. We were invited to go and have a look around, but I felt too guilty intruding on someone’s workspace to go any further.
How much do you want to try a bottle of this?
Even from the outside, I’ve always been appreciative of what Team Sky have done for the sport in the UK, purely in terms of results and the associated boosting of the profile of racing. But it was a privilege to have a chance to have a look on the inside – even in the closing stages of a fairly important stage race in which they had a vested interest, they took the time to offer the chance to have a mosey around to four randoms that they didn’t know from Adam. And not just a faceless guided whizz around – we had a guide, of course, but Rob could not have been more open and friendly. It was remarkable – all their riders’ personal kit was there, any questions could be asked, photos were encouraged and nothing was off limits. British Cycling Head Coach Shane Sutton was on and off the bus doing his thing whilst we were there, and he was perfectly happy to answer questions as he worked.
It was a fantastic treat, for any cycling fan, and a real privilege to have had the chance – massive “thank you thank you thank you!” thanks to Fran Millar of Team Sky and Claire Boakes of Jaguar for allowing Cycling Shorts this window into such a fascinating world. #ToB2013 #ridelikeapro @TeamSky @JaguarUK @Sportbrake
